1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clip attaching structure for attaching a clip to an outer casing of a writing instrument or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The clip attached to the outer casing is used for holding the outer casing of a writing instrument or the like at a pocket or paper or the like, when carrying them, and it is exposed to the outside of the outer casing. Therefore, the exterior of the clip is an important factor for dominating the total appearance. For example, in the case where the clip is made of a thick plate material, the feeling of quality is higher than that in the case where the clip is made of a thin plate material, which is preferable.
On the other hand, when the clip is made of a thick plate material, the soft elasticity is lost, and therefore, it becomes unsuitable for the original use as a clip. Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 12, a structure in which the spring action of the clip is compensated by using a spring separately is well known. In FIG. 12, a clip 42 has a base part 42a to be inserted into an outer casing 40 and a clip main body 42b extending approximately in parallel with the outer casing 40. The base part 42a is inserted into the outer casing 40 from a lateral hole formed in the side of the outer casing 40. Furthermore, at the end part of the outer casing 40, a screw shaft 44a of a breechblock 44 is screwed, and the tip of the screw shaft 44a is loosely passing through the base part 42a to prevent the base part 42a from displacing a center of the outer casing 40. Furthermore, in the outer casing 40, a partition wall 46 is fixed by pressing or the like, and between the partition wall 46 and the base part 42a, a spring 48 is disposed, and the above described spring 48 is always urges the base part 42a to the end part of the outer casing 40.
When the clip 42 composed as described above, as shown by the imaginary line in the figure is swung around the point near the base part 42a, by the tip of the clip main body 42b being raised to be separated from the outer casing 40, the base part 42a is inclined against a spring force of the spring 48, and a clearance is formed between the clip main body 42b and the outer casing 40. The clip 42 itself is hardly deformed and only the spring 48 is deformed, and therefore, a lot of swinging amounts can be obtained by a comparatively little force, even if a large force is not applied to the clip main body 42b. When the force to the clip main body 42b is released, the base part 42a is pressed onto the end part of the outer casing 40 by the spring force of the spring 48 to release the inclination, and therefore, the clip main body 42b returns to the original state where it approaches the outer casing 40.
However, in the case of the above described conventional structure like this, the problem is that a part of the spring 48 is necessary and the number of parts is increased and the assembling becomes complicated and consequently, the cost is raised. Moreover, the problem is that the cost of materials is increased since the clip is made of a thick plate material.
Furthermore, conventionally, it is sometimes necessary to attach an inner sleeve as one part to the inside of the outer sleeve. In such a case, there are well-known methods for attaching the inner sleeve to the outer sleeve, such as a method by screwing or bonding. In the case of screwing, a female screw is formed on the inside peripheral surface of the outer sleeve and a male screw is formed on the outside peripheral surface of the inner sleeve so that the male screw of the inner sleeve is screwed into the female screw of the outer sleeve. In the case of bonding, liquid or gel adhesives are coated onto the outside peripheral surface of the inner sleeve and the inner sleeve is inserted into a proper position in the outer sleeve and after that, the adhesives are hardened and fixed.
However, in the case of screwing, the outer sleeve and the inner sleeve must have such a relation allowing a relative rotation between them, and on the other hand, the relative rotation between them must be prohibited during using in order to prevent a careless detachment, and therefore, the problem is that a range of applications for the screwing method is limited. If a screw or the like cannot be formed on the outer sleeve or the inner sleeve, application for the screwing method is impossible.
On the other hand, in the case of liquid or gel bonding, it takes a lot of time to be dried and completely hardened, and it is also necessary to perform the work carefully so that the adhesives are not attached to other members, and therefore, the problem is that the working efficiency is bad.
In view of the foregoing and other drawbacks, disadvantages and problems of the conventional methods and structures, a first object of the present invention is to provide a clip attaching structure wherein the cost can be reduced and the appearance is good and furthermore, a good spring action is provided.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an attaching method for attaching an inner sleeve to an outer sleeve and an attaching structure of an inner sleeve to an outer sleeve wherein the application range is wide and the working efficiency is good.
In order to achieve the above described object, a clip attaching structure for attaching a clip to an outer casing of a writing instrument or the like according to the present invention comprises the outer casing and the clip made of a thin plate metal material. The clip includes a base part to be inserted into the outer casing, a clip main body part to be extended outside the outer casing and a middle portion provided between the base part and the clip main body part. The clip main body part has an approximately U-shaped cross section made by bending both sides of the thin plate, a clip main body part side of the middle portion has an approximately U-shaped cross section made by bending both sides thereof and continuing the approximately U-shaped cross section from the clip main body part, a base part side of the middle portion is shaped like a plate, and the downward bent portion of both sides of the middle portion is inserted into the outer casing when the clip is not swung.
This clip can be made at a low cost since it is made of a thin plate metal material, and in spite of that, the clip main body part exposed from the outer casing has an approximately U-shaped cross section made by bending both sides of the thin plate, and moreover, the bent portion of both sides of the middle portion is inserted into the outer casing in the state where the clip is not swung, and therefore, the boundary between the portion with an approximately U-shaped cross section of the middle portion and the portion shaped like a plate is not seen from the outside, and therefore, it can have an appearance equal to that of a clip which is made of a thick plate material.
Furthermore, when the clip is swung, the portion on the base part side shaped like a plate of the above described middle portion is the center of swing, and therefore, a good spring action can be provided, and the swinging operation of the clip can be performed by a comparatively light operating force. It is possible to hold the paper or the pocket easily between the clip main body part and the outer casing.
The middle portion can be arranged to close the rear end surface of the outer casing. Consequently, the downward bent portion of both sides of the middle portion can surely be contained in the outer casing.
Furthermore, a clip attaching structure for attaching a clip to an outer casing of a writing instrument or the like according to the present invention comprises the clip made of a thin plate metal material. The clip includes a base part to be inserted into the outer casing, a clip main body part to be extended outside the outer casing and a middle portion provided between the base part and the clip main body part, wherein the middle portion is arranged to close a rear end surface of the outer casing.
Since the rear end surface of the above described outer casing is closed by the middle portion, the clip can be attached to the outer casing with feeling of unity.
It is also possible that the rear end surface of the above described outer casing is an inclined surface inclined to an axial line, and that the base part of the above described clip is inserted into the same position in the circumferential direction as the rearmost position of the inclined rear end surface of said outer casing, and that the above described clip main body part is located at the same position in the circumferential direction as the foremost position of the inclined rear end surface. Consequently, the clip main body part can smoothly be continued from the middle portion.
In order to achieve the above described second object, an attaching method for attaching an inner sleeve to the inside of a cylindrical outer sleeve according to the present invention comprises the step of inserting the inner sleeve into the outer sleeve from an one end opening of the outer sleeve which has a slit formed therein and extending toward the one end from the other end thereof and at least the other end portion of the outer sleeve includes a tapered part having an inside diameter gradually reduced from the one end side to the other end. The inner sleeve includes a tapered part having an outside diameter following the inside diameter of the tapered part of the outer sleeve and an expanded diameter part located on the other end side of the tapered part of the inner sleeve and having an outside diameter larger than the inside diameter of the other end of the outer sleeve. The attaching method further comprises the steps of moving the expanded diameter part of the inner sleeve in the outer sleeve with forcibly widening the slit of the outer sleeve; and projecting the expanded diameter part from an other end opening of the outer sleeve to engage a step part formed between the expanded diameter part of the inner sleeve and the tapered part of the inner sleeve with an end surface of the other end opening of the outer sleeve.
Furthermore, an attaching structure for attaching an inner sleeve to an inside of a cylindrical outer sleeve according to the present invention, wherein
the outer sleeve has a slit formed therein and extending toward an one end from the other end thereof, and at least the other end portion thereof includes a tapered part having an inside diameter gradually reduced from the one end side to the other end;
the inner sleeve includes a tapered part having an outside diameter following the inside diameter of the tapered part of the outer sleeve and an expanded diameter part located on the other end side of the tapered part of the inner sleeve and having an outside diameter larger than the inside diameter of the other end of the outer sleeve; and
the inner sleeve is inserted into the outer sleeve from an one end opening of the outer sleeve, the expanded diameter part thereof passes through the outer sleeve with forcibly widening the slit of the outer sleeve to project from an other end opening of the outer sleeve, and a step part formed between the expanded diameter part of the inner sleeve and the tapered part of the inner sleeve is engaged with an end surface of the other end opening of the outer sleeve.
When inserting the inner sleeve into the outer sleeve, the expanded diameter part of the inner sleeve can be moved in the outer sleeve with forcibly expanding the outer sleeve in the outside diameter direction by utilizing the elasticity of the slit, and after the expanded diameter part has projected from the other end opening of the outer sleeve, the outer sleeve returns to the original state by the restoring force, and the tapered part of the inner sleeve fits to the tapered part of the outer sleeve, and the step part formed between the tapered part and the expanded diameter part is engaged with the end surface of the other end opening of the outer sleeve. Accordingly, it does not occur for the inner sleeve to slip easily off from the outer sleeve. Thus, the inner sleeve can be fixed to the outer sleeve basically only by the work of inserting the inner sleeve into the outer sleeve, and therefore, the inner sleeve can be attached to the outer sleeve with a good working efficiency and furthermore, with a good appearance of the outer sleeve. Even in the case of a structure where the inner sleeve cannot rotate relative to the outer sleeve, or even in the case where the inner sleeve or the outer sleeve is made of a material with no adhesion property, it can be applied, and the range of application can be widened.
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2001-292623 and 2001-292624, filed on Sep. 25, 2001, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.